Harry G. Franfurt, an emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Princeton, has penned a short book entitled On Bullshit. The book shot up the Amazon popularity chart (it's #18 as I write this post).
Frankfurt begins by noting that "One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit." In the businesses of consulting, law, PR, and other professional services, clients accuse service providers of slinging the bull, sometimes with abandon.
The fastest way to aliente clients is to try to bullsh*t them. And, according to Franfurt, that happens "whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about."
Anyone can reduce the level of BS in any client conversation by saying "I don't know" or "Let me get back to you on that."
Look through your Web site, marketing materials, and proposals. Is BS buried in your words? Everyone knows when they're listening to BS and nobody likes it. Has any of it slipped inadvertently into your work?
Just when I thought I understood Franfurt's perspective on bullsh*t, he ends his book with this quote:
"Facts about ourselves are not peculiarly solid and resistant to skeptical dissolution. Our natures are, indeed, elusively insubstantial--notoriously less stable and less inherent than the natures of other things. And insofar as this is the case, sincerity itself is bullshit."
That's an uplifting thought, professor.
For a refreshing view of the other side of BS, see www.huhcorp.com, a parody site where they tell it like it is. For example "If you call our office, the phone will be answered by a very disinterested intern, giving you the impression that we're too important to talk to you. Because we are."
Posted by: Andrea Harris | April 29, 2005 at 06:43 PM